Blowing Sand Mitigation Meeting: April 22

Link to Sand Blowing meeting, thank you to neighbor Larry M for capturing this video

Drifting Sand on Park Point: City Proposal

The City of Duluth is hosting a public meeting to present plans for dealing with blowing and drifting sand on Park Point between the Lift Bridge and 12th Street.  City Staff will provide information on a mitigation strategy and on permitting.  Feedback from residents is being sought before these plans are put in place.

When:  7:30 – 8:30 Monday, April 22, 2024

Where:  Lafayette Community Center

Who:  The public is welcome; the meeting is primarily intended for residents in the affected area.  Park Point residents living between the Lift Bridge and 12th Street are encouraged to attend because this is your opportunity to provide input on the City Plans before work begins.

For information contact Duluth Natural Resources Coordinator, 218.580.9150; fliers on this meeting were delivered to residents from the bridge to the S curve.

Here are a few photos and a movie clip, link here.

Update from Parks and Recreation, 5/13/2024

Councilors and Concerned Residents,

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your concerns about the City’s response to the problem of windblown sand accumulation on the north end, lake side, of Minnesota Point, from the Lift Bridge to the 12^th Street beach access.

Beach restoration projects on the north end of Minnesota Point completed in 2021 at the behest of beachfront residents have inadvertently contributed to the accumulation of windblown sand on adjoining public and private properties.

Beachfront property owners between the Life Bridge and 12th have asked the City to give them a place to dump the sand that has accumulated thus far and help them to prevent further accumulation in the future. In lieu of City action to date, some adjoining property owners have placed sand fencing on the City-owned beach, and/or moved significant volumes of sand onto the City-owned beach, without required permits.

Staff met with impacted property owners on April 22 to present our plan and solicit feedback. Revised on the basis of public input, the current plan has several elements:

1. City to provide beachfront residents with a place on the City owned beach to dump sand. The City is working with DNR to secure permission for beachfront property owners to place sand on that portion of the City beach within 10-to-15-feet of the recently surveyed and staked public/private property boundary. Beachfront property owners will receive a letter within the next two weeks notifying them of when and where they may place sand under this initial authorization. Later in the summer, the City hopes to acquire another DNR permit that would allow beachfront property owners to place sand on the beach closer to the lake (further from the public/private property boundary). The City will send beachfront property owners a separate letter when this opportunity is available. DNR regulations prohibit removal, damage, or alteration of beach or dune grasses in the course of moving sand.
2. City to obtain after-the-fact authorization for recent sand movement projects undertaken by private property owners without permits between the Lift Bridge and the 12th St beach access between March 1^st 2023 and March 1^st 2024. Fines for this activity have been waived by the DNR. The City will secure a single after-the-fact permit and pay the associated fee. Property owners who moved sand onto that portion of the beach closer to the lake for which DNR has regulatory responsibility will be expected to provide information about the unpermitted work they performed. With this cooperation, beachfront property owners who performed unpermitted work on City property will not incur DNR permit fees. Impacted beachfront property owners will be notified via letter in about a month when the after-the-fact permit has been secured.
3. City installation of sand fence on the beach from the Lift Bridge to the 12^th Street beach access.  After the City secures the necessary DNR permit, the City will work with the Park Point Community Club, beachfront property owners, and DNR to plan and implement a system of sand fencing designed to reduce the transport of windblown sand onto adjoining private properties and the sidewalk and street beyond and to contribute to the restoration of protective beach dunes. The City will hold a meeting with impacted property owners before commencing installation. The meeting is expected to take place within the next one-to-two months.
4. City restoration of the 8^th and 12^th Street beach accesses. The City has completed restoration of the 12^th Street access where windblown sand had rendered that designated wheelchair-accessible access effectively inaccessible to many. The City is permitted to cause incidental damage to the dunes and dune grass in the course of maintaining the 12^th Street access. Some residents have raised important concerns about the magnitude of the damage to the dunes and dune grass. The City’s task at 12^th Street is to balance the tension between our legal responsibility to maintain wheelchair access to the beach and our legal responsibility to minimize harm to dunes and dune grass. Different arms of DNR are charged with overseeing our compliance with each mandate. City staff have initiated consultation with DNR to solicit their input on how they would like us to strike that balance at beach accesses in the future. Restoration of the more primitive – not wheelchair-accessible – 8^th Street beach access is expected to be undertaken within the next one to two months, after the City obtains the necessary permits.
5. Spring 2025: Planting of new beach grasses. One year after sand fencing installation, new dunes will have been created by windblown sand and we will plant new beach grass plugs to solidify dunes and help to limit windblown sand onto public and private property.

Please let me know if you have additional questions or concerns that I can help to address.

Sincerely Yours,

Jim Filby Williams

Property, Parks, and Libraries Department Director

City of Duluth